The Beginning
by OnTheBrinkOfInsanity
Summary: The children of Anubis, from the beginning. Eventual Jara. R&R!
1. Chapter 1

Eleven year old Mara Jeffray stood outside Anubis house, still teary eyed from her parents departure. Suitcase in one hand, hand book in the other, she walked through the oak doors. She was greeted by a kind looking woman wearing an apron with flour all over it.

"Hello deary! I'm Trudy, the house mother." she held out a flour stained hand for Mara to shake but retracted it, laughing the whole time.

"Why don't you come on and meet the others. They're not all here yet but your roommate is." she ushered her into the kitchen and living room area. Mara felt butterflies in her stomach. It was a mixture of nerves and excitement. She was about to meet the people she was going to live with. She only hoped that they were nice... at the very least. Once in the room, she saw four people. Three girls and one boy. The girls were talking on the couch but looked up when they saw Mara and Trudy. The blonde one squealed and ran over to them. She hugged her tightly.

"Hey, roomie!" she said, letting her go. Mara just smiled timidly and waved slightly. She was too scared to talk. "I'm Amber! That's Patricia and that's Joy." she said pointing at the other two girls. She didn't introduce the boy though. She just glanced over at him.

When Mara didn't respond, Amber studied her intently. "Are you, like, mute?" she asked slowly and loudly. Mara decided to play this out a little longer and shook her head.

"Then why aren't you speaking?" Mara just shrugged her shoulders. Amber laughed nervously and Mara just smiled at her again.

"Okay, so why don't you girls go and unpack. I'll have dinner ready when you get down." Amber, Patricia and Joy happily took their suitcases upstairs but Mara hung back. The yet-to-be-named boy was sitting on the windowsill, his back to her. She walked slowly over to him and sat on the other side of the ledge. "I'm Mara, what's your name?" No response. "Are _you_ mute?" she asked. He didn't speak but turned his body to face her. Now she could see his profile. He had dirty blonde hair (a lot of it) and piercing blue eyes. He avoided eye contact but spoke up.

"Jerome." was all he said. She could see in his eyes that he wasn't happy to be here.

"So... why so sad?" she said airily.

"I'm not sad." he protested.

_Your tear stained face begs to differ. _

But Mara just nodded and fiddled with her hair awkwardly. She was surprised when Jerome spoke again.

"Your roommate talks a lot." he said with half a smile, finally looking into her eyes. His eyes unnerved Mara. They were somewhat hypnotizing.

"I can tell." she smiled back.

"I was here when she came and she hasn't stopped talking since." Mara laughed at this and then reached into her side bag. She pulled out a box of jellied eels, opening it and giving some to Jerome. Jerome finally gave her a full smile, muttering a small thanks. Just then, three boys walked in. One of them looked more scared than the other two put together. She later found out that his name was Fabian when Trudy came and greeted them warmly. The other two were named Alfie and Mick. The other girls came down and the eight students chatted and got to know each other. Mara quickly befriended Amber, her roommate, and later on Patricia and Joy. Jerome wasn't as sad as before. Although he was joking around with Alfie, you could tell that he was hurting. Just by looking at his eyes. Well, Mara could anyway.

Once in bed, Mara got out her notebook. She was leaning on the headboard looking at everything in her room. There was a blue beanbag in one corner with a number of plush pillows around it. A wardrobe, chest of draws and a purple and blue rug. Amber was asleep on the bed next to her. She had fallen asleep straight away on account of the long train ride she had to take to get here. Mara should really be sleepy too but she wouldn't be able to sleep until she had written in her notebook. She didn't call it a diary ,even though she used it as one, because if she did, people would want to read it wouldn't they? Pen in hand, she wrote down everything that she was thinking. About the house, about the school, her housemates. Everything.

_I'm in my room but not at home. No, I have been sent to boarding school and am in Anubis house. I will be living here for a few years. Well, until I graduate. I've met my housemates and they all seem very nice. Here is a list._

_.Amber- my roommate. She's very talkative and bubbly._

_.Patricia-Not as loud as Amber but still really nice._

_.Joy-Sharing a room with Patricia. Calm and funny._

_.Fabian-Seems quite shy and I can tell that he is smart._

_.Mick-Sharing with Fabian. Likes sport. Sweet._

_.Alfie-A jokester. Very funny, up-beat and obsessed with extra terrestrials. I convinced there is life on other planets._

_.Jerome-..._

_I honestly don't know what to say about him. He is one of those very complicated people that show a range of different emotions on his face at a time. When I first came in, he was evidently upset and it was obvious he had been crying and I don't think that it was because he missed his parents. Afterwards however, he was all laughs and happy chatting. I like knowing with what i'm dealing with so Jerome wasn't exactly my favorite person in the house._

_Well, goodbye for now!_

Just as Mara was putting her book away and was about to go to sleep, there was a soft knock at the door. The person, without waiting for permission to enter, opened the door and walked halfway to her bed. She could now see that the mystery person was Jerome. The boy she had just now been writing about. Sub-consciously, she tucked the little red book further down in between her pillows. Jerome stood there awkwardly for a few seconds but eventually spoke.

"Umm, I just wanted to say thanks... for before." he rubbed his hand on the back of his neck and Mara could tell that he was not used to saying thanks. Whether it was because he was mean or because he didn't have anything to be thankful for, she didn't know. In his other hand, he held a snickers chocolate bar. When he saw Mara looking at it, he walked a bit further and placed it on the edge of her bed.

"Thanks." she dragged out the word and he turned to go, bumping into the wardrobe on his way. He smiled sheepishly at her and left. Mara crawled forward, grabbed the chocolate bar and got her book out again. No way was she going to be able to sleep before writing what had just happened!

**End.**

**So this isn't exactly Jara since they're like... eleven years old. But I can't write something without incorporating a little bit of Jara into it. I'm not going to continue this story because I am writing something for my other fandom, Big Time Rush, because I feel like I have abandoned it. Well, I hope you enjoyed it, please review.**

**~Insanity ;)**


	2. Chapter 2

Months went on at Anubis house. Friendship groups and enemies were made, numbers exchanged, gossip told and soon enough, the residents found themselves in year 8. It had gone way too fast in Jerome's opinion. He couldn't even begin to fathom leaving the boarding school. No doubt, his mum didn't want him back, he didn't even _know _where his dad was. Becoming a hobo actually sounded like a good idea in his situation. He couldn't believe he was saying this, but school was... good. It was escape from his disastrous family life. It was however, a bitter-sweet escape. What with the class work, the math's, having to listen to Amber complain about the humidity. One of the worst things though, was the labels that they gave everyone. One silly thing and you were tagged for life. Jerome had decided to pull a small prank on sweetie one school morning, it had caused a massive up-roar and there goes Jerome being called by his actual name. Mr. Sweet had started calling him Clarke, whenever people he didn't know talked about him it was 'the prankster' and on the odd occasion that Patricia talked to or about him, slime ball. Only Alfie referred to him as Jerome, although even that was rare. It was usually 'buddy'. The rest of his housemates each had their own label too.

Amber- Miss Popular

Alfie- Alien dude

Fabian-'Fabian? Who's Fabian?'

Mick- The Jock ( Jerome preferred to call him some other not-so-nice names behind his back)

Patricia-That Goth Chick

Joy-Leaky ( She spilt her drink down her front once and they wouldn't let her forget it)

Mara- The Geek

Jerome didn't particularly like it when people called Mara names. Although she only sometimes talked to him, she still stood out to him. Not in _that _way (Okay, sometimes. He _was _a thirteen year old boy and she was... attractive). Ever since their first day and Mara had comforted him, his ears pricked up whenever someone mentioned her name. He was always interested in what she was doing. She intrigued him somehow. He didn't exactly _like _her - how could he when she barely spoke to him. He remembered every time that they spoke and it wasn't a lot. The last time was a couple of weeks back, during science.

_"Hey Mara, what do you add to this?" he asked, staring at his complete fail of a project. Mara examined it and shook her head._

_"You've done it all wrong." she said, not once looking up at him. "You were supposed to have got a chemical reaction by now." she stared at it a little while longer before taking her beaker and swapping it with his. "Here, take this one. I'll work on your one." she said, finally looking up at him. He smiled down at her and muttered thanks. She didn't smile back until the end of class when she left the room with Joy._

That was the day that Jerome realized that he liked Mara Jeffray.

It was a Tuesday evening and everyone was sitting in the main room, doing one thing or the other. Jerome was sitting on the floor in front of the couch, reading the book that they had been assigned in English. Well, he wasn't really reading it. More like skimming through it. No one could actually read a book that big. He looked up and was instantly proven wrong. Mara was sitting on the couch opposite him, looking completely entranced by the same book that Jerome held in his hands. Looking around, he decided that it was relatively safe to watch her. Nobody looked interested in what was going on. From underneath his book, he took in her beauty. The way that her silky, dark hair framed her flawless face perfectly. The way that she looked so dainty, sitting crossed legged, so delicate. Even the way that her brow creased slightly when she read. Her perfectly painted pink finger nails digging into the hard back cover.

That was the day that Jerome's feelings grew.

A month later, Jerome was walking home from school, by himself. He wanted some fresh air. Today wasn't his best. So he had escaped from the massive sea of students, filing out of the school as if it held a deadly, highly contagious disease. Slowly, savoring the time he had alone, he walked down the long road. He stopped when he heard quiet whimpering coming from the small tree at the corner. Deciding to investigate a little further (he was a _very _curious person but he didn't resent it) and peered around the small tree. He was surprised to find no other than Mara, the subject of his affection for a while now, leaning against the tree and crying into her petite hands. His natural instinct would've normally have been to back away and walk back to the house as if he hadn't seen anything, but this was Mara.

"Hey," he said softly, though she still squeaked and jumped slightly when she heard his voice. He crouched down next to her. "What's wrong?"

She hesitated before giving him a short, untruthful answer.

"Nothing, I was just being silly." she whispered, wiping her tears with the sleeve of her blazer. Jerome raised an eyebrow as she peered up at him nervously.

"Just being silly? Come on, I'm not _that _dumb." he said, sitting down on the dirty ground. "What made you cry?" he asked a little more sincerely. She sighed and traced her finger through the mud she was sitting on.

"Two girls called me a 'geek' and their boyfriends took my bag." she said it as if it was her that did something wrong. "It happens a lot, I don't know what made me cry this time."

Jerome honestly didn't know what to say. He was only thirteen, he didn't know how to comfort a girl! He just wanted to make her feel better. So, acting on pure impulse, he grabbed her hand, stood her up and hugged her tightly. Mara seemed a bit stunned at first but eventually wove her arms around the taller boy and cried violently into his shoulder. He didn't mind at all though.

"Let it all out. That's it." he soothed her while he stroked her sleek black hair. It felt so soft running through his fingers, he thought. Velvety.

After a while, Mara's sobbing subdued and she pulled away from Jerome's embrace.

"Thanks." she sniffed. Jerome dismissed it with a wave of his hand.

"Don't mention it."

They walked back to Anubis together, talking about anything. He wanted to take her mind off of what had happened.

"Tell me something about you." he said, randomly. She laughed lightly.

"Umm... I'm wearing odd socks."

"No, something personal." he stopped walking. "Really?"

She slipped her feet out of her shoes as an answer. One of them as black with purple tips, the other with yellow tips. They both laughed as she put her shoes back on and they resumed walking.

"I have no personal things to tell." she shrugged. Jerome stared at her in disbelief.

"Come on, everybody has secrets."

She raised an eyebrow. "Okay then, what are yours?"

"I'm not telling." Jerome scoffed.

"Exactly. It's a secret. It wouldn't be a secret if you told someone. Then it would be like... an un-secret secret that used to be a secret but got told and became un-secret." she finalized. Jerome didn't understand her one bit.

"How many times did you just say secret?" he asked, playfully. They stopped at the door and, once again, burst out laughing. Still chortling when they opened the doors, faced with Amber standing there looking ecstatic.

"Mick Campbell asked me out!" she squealed as soon as she saw Mara. "You need to help me get ready!" She pulled her away, not showing any signs of seeing the lanky boy next to her. Mara tried to wave goodbye to Jerome as she was being dragged away and he waved back.

That was the day the Jerome Clarke realized that he was in love with Mara Jeffray.

**Sorry that took so long! I'm going to start writing the next chapter as soon as I upload this one but won't put it up until I get at least two reviews.**

**~Insanity ;)**


	3. Chapter 3

**"One, two, three..." Mara counted her fingers because... well because she was bored. Amber had gone on yet another date with Mick. It had to have been the ninth one that week. Maybe even tenth. Mara didn't approve of their relationship. She thought that fourteen was too young to be dating. But who was going to listen to her. She was a person that could be described as a fly on the wall. Everyone could see that she was there but never did anything about her. She was fine with that, really. She wasn't a talkative person and she preferred to be reading anyway. Don't take this the wrong way. She did have friends, but she was always second best. Amber had Mick, Patricia had Joy and vice versa. Fabian was always one place or the other and Alfie's best friend was Jerome.**

_**Jerome**_

**Mara wasn't afraid to say that she liked Jerome. He had helped her last year and they had grown closer since. He always had a front, a mask to hide his feelings. Mara could see through that mask. In public, he acted... cocky in some ways. Him and Alfie were the jokers, the pranksters. However, on the rare occasions that they were alone together, she knew that he was kind, sincere and genuinely cared. He was even intelligent on some levels. He just described the saying, 'Don't judge a book by it's cover'. Mara had cared for him too, ever since that day. He had even come to find her after.**

_**Mara was sitting on her bed and writing in her notebook when there was a knock at the door. Amber was on her date with Mick. She'd been gone for an hour and half so Mara was very bored. She couldn't do her homework, her bag was still MIA. She hid her book and granted the person permission to enter.**_

_**"Come in." she smiled nervously when Jerome peered through the small crack on the door, only his head visible. He was also smiling.**_

_**"I have a surprise for you." he said mysteriously. Confusion took over the smile on her face. He walked in fully and overly exaggerated his arm movement. Once he stood in her room, she could see her red side bag in his hand. She jumped off of her bed enveloped his lanky form in a huge hug. He laughed and hugged back, draping her school bag over her extended arm and onto her shoulder. She pulled back, beaming and not just because she had her bag back (although she was very happy about that.) It was partly because he had done something nice for her. Jerome grinned down at her and just when she was about to thank him, Trudy called up the stairs announcing that dinner was ready.**_

**Coincidently, Trudy popped her head round the door, just as Jerome had done, and told her to come down for dinner.**

**She made her way down and, just because she had just been thinking about him, sat in the seat next to Jerome. There were other seats available, but she chose that one. Only Jerome, Alfie and Joy were at the table but the others soon came filing in. Jerome smiled down at her.**

**"Tut tut, Mara." Amber shook her head disapprovingly.**

**"What did I do?" she asked, confused. Amber sat down next to her and waggled her finger in front of her face.**

**"You said that fourteen was too young to be dating, and here you are making kissy faces with Jerome." she scolded, smiling at the end. Mara blushed lightly and was thankful when Trudy distracted everybody by handing out their plates.**

**"You two make a cute couple." Amber whispered to her. Mara blushed a deeper shade of red when she saw Jerome trying to hide his smile. He had obviously heard.**

**"Come on Mara, I know you like him." Amber poked her sides whilst Mara was trying to read on her bed. She rolled her eyes and glared at her friend for the umpteenth time but made no move to argue. Joy and Patricia sat on the bean bags, laughing at something on Ambers laptop.**

_**Poke. Poke. Poke.**_

**Mara remained strong.**

_**Poke. ...**_

**Giving up, Mara laid down her book, Anne Frank's Diary, and turned to her irritating room mate.**

**"Why, can't I smile at a boy without being accused of fancying him?" **

**"Oh, you can. But this is Jerome. I _know _you like him." The blonde grinned knowingly. She could see that Amber was not going to back down so she turned to the other two.**

**"Help me out." **

**Patricia was first to answer, and thankfully, she was on her side.**

**"Come off it Amber, if Mara says she doesn't like him, the she doesn't like him."**

**"Thank you!" Mara nodded her head. Joy, however, was quick to disagree.**

**"Oh please, the way that he was looking at you! It was so sweet. Even if you say that you don't like him, I know for a fact that he likes you." **

**Amber looked smug.**

**"Moving on from my non-existent love life," Mara changed the topic of conversation to one that was sure to keep Amber talking, and _not _about her. "Have you heard Blue's new song?"**

**That set her off.**

**Mara tried to drown it out, but once Amber started talking about Duncan James, there was no stopping her. Picking up her book, Mara dived back into the Anne. Eventually, when Amber had run out of words to describe Duncan and Trixie and Joy had gone back to their room, she fell asleep with one question on her mind.**

_**Did she really like Jerome?**_


	4. Chapter 4

Jerome couldn't believe what he was hearing. He had his ear pressed up against the door as he listened to their conversation.

"Even if you say that you don't like him, I know for a fact that he likes you." He heard Joy say. His face paled at that. Did he really make it that obvious? He hadn't even told Alfie that he like Mara, how could Joy know? But then he remembered something that she had said before that.

_The way that he smiled at you…_

That was it, he was being too nice to her! That was what gave it away. What was he to do now? He didn't want to be mean to her but he didn't want to give it away either. He contemplated for a minute before deciding that he was just going to ignore to her. No chats in the corridor, no sitting next to her in class or at meal times and definitely _no_ smiling at her. Yes, he was going to have no interaction with Mara. Well, until she finally realized that she loved him just as much as Jerome loved her. It seemed like the most rational thing to do to him, so he was going to do it.

"Who knows what a Linear Equation is?" Mr. Harlow, the maths teacher, asked the class. Only Fabian and Mara seemed the slightest bit interested by the mumbo-jumbo coming out of the balding man's mouth. Mara was the first to put her hand up, Fabian was too shy to ever contribute his ideas.

"A linear equation is an equation where the independent variable is of degree one. It does not include rational equations where the independent variable could occur in the denominator."

Jerome didn't understand a word that she had said, he liked listening to her when se was this enthusiastic. The teacher applauded her and went on to explain linear graphs. Even the two smartest had lost interest here and were talking to their partners about anything but math. Jerome tried not to stare at Mara but it was too hard to peel his eyes off her sleek black hair. She was facing Patrician, so he could see her side on. The way her hair shimmied every time she nodded was hypnotizing. He was shook out of his thoughts by Alfie.

"Dude, look at Harlow's jacket." He said in between laughs. Jerome moved his gaze to the teachers over-coat and saw what Alfie was laughing about. '**CALL ME TUBBY!**' was written on a bright pink paper, stuck to his back**. **Mr. Harlow was a little on the chubby side, so, no harm done in his opinion.

"Nicely done, Alfie but let's take it up a level." he whispered to his friend and then turned to the teacher.

"Shall we pack up, the bell's about to go, Tubby." Jerome said, calmly. Mr. Harlow, however, was anything but calm. His bloated cheeks had gone bright red and he looked as if he couldn't breath.

"Mr. Clarke! That is no way to speak to a teacher!" he looked outraged. Alfie joined in now, as the rest of the class sniggered.

"But Tubs, I thought you wanted us to." Alfie feigned confusion, looking at the livid teacher. Everyone was laughing now. Even, Jerome noticed, Mara. His smile grew even bigger at the sight. Her face brightened and she... wait, he was supposed to be forgetting about her.

_'No, you're supposed to be ignoring her. Who said that you can't think about her?' _he thought to himself and carried on watching her. He only looked away when he heard everyone chanting 'tubby'. Naturally, he joined in. It carried on like this until Harlow had a nervous breakdown. First he started blubbering, his eyes tearing up as he pulled at the little hair on his head. Then, he ran out of the classroom, the students making no effort to hide their laughter with and exception of Fabian, Amelia Pinches, and Mara.

Jerome and Alfie were, of course punished for harassing a troubled teacher' and were made to clean the classroom. Even the multi-coloured chewing gum under the desks. Jerome didn't complain, at least it wasn't Victor's usual. He'd already cleaned the toilets 20 times through and always wondered where he kept getting the toothbrushes from. Alfie had his headphones in and was dancing wildly to a song that Jerome didn't recognise. He rolled his eyes and went back to cleaning the board. He groaned internally when he saw Mara knock at the already open door. "Hey, Jerome." I looked sideways at her discreetly and saw that she was smiling. Though it faltered when she saw Alfie's dancing, if it could even be called that. Jerome made no recognition of her presence.

"Umm, Mr Sweet told me to give you this." she said. Jerome chanced a look at her and saw that she was holding a note.

"Just put it on the table." he muttered, looking away.

"O-ok." she stuttered. "So, clean up duty, huh?" she said, gaining a little confidence. Again, he remained silent, only nodding his head slightly.

"Are you going to talk to me?" she asked, joking but still confused. Silence, still. "At all?" she was seriously confused now and, Jerome could tell, angry.

"Fine." she said, stomping away and dropping the note in the door way. He sighed, not proud of what he had done, and went to get the white envelope. Once it was opened, he could see his mother's scribbled handwriting. 'Well, this can't be good.' he said to himself, Alfie still completely oblivious.

_**Jerome,**_

_**You're going to have to stay at the school for the holidays from now on. Poppy and I have our hands full and no room for you.**_

_**See you.**_

Jerome stared at the short letter speechlessly. How could his mother be _this _hostile? She didn't even sign it 'Mum'. 'See you?' he thought. 'Yeah, when I graduate.' He scoffed and returned to the job at hand. The Mara Situation was more important. Maybe blocking her out wasn't the best idea. It made him feel horrible and no doubt Mara didn't feel too good. He dropped his cloth and ran in the direction she had run. Now, Alfie chose to become aware of his surroundings.

"Jerome! Dude, where'd you go?" he pulled the small buds out and looked around the empty classroom. Jerome was already halfway across campus, determined to get to Mara.

**Thank you for reading and thanks for the reviews!(It wasn't meant to be bold).**

**Review please! ;)**


	5. Chapter 5

Mara slowed down after a while. Running was never really her strong point. Truth be told, she didn't even know why she was running from him. So, he ignored her, it's not like they talked alot anyway. Well, not on a daily basis. But whenever they did, Jerome always left her smiling. _Not now. _She though. Now he had left her with a lonesome tear sliding down her red cheeks. She quickly wiped it away and told herself that she was being silly. Why should Jerome's actions hurt her? She finally reached Anubis house and went straight up to her room, not planning on doing anything but homework. And maybe write down what had happened today. Her evening plan was ruined when she opened the door to see Patricia and Joy all huddled around a crying Amber. She was laying on her pink bed, used tissues surrounding her.

"Oh god, Amber! What happened?" she asked dropping her bag and going over to her best friend.

"M-Mick broke up w-with me!" she stuttered, the last word getting lost in the wail that followed. Mara paused. She was excepting a dead grandma or even a lost pet. This, didn't even occur to her. Amber and Mick were like, TheItCouple. Every lesser couple looked up to them, even some of the older years. Mara sat on the bed next to her and side hugged her limp form. Amber cried into her lap while she stroked her hair every once in a while. It carried on like this until there was a knock at the door. Patricia went to get it and sighed in distress when she heard Jerome's voice coming from the doorway.

"Is M-Mara there?" he panted. Patricia looked back at her and Mara shook her head vigorously.

"Sorry, she's a little busy. Come back, never." she said harshly and closed the door in his face.

"Patricia! That was very rude!" Joy scolded and got up to apologize to him. She opened the door

and saw Jerome rubbing his nose, looking annoyed.

"Sorry! We're in the middle of something right now but I'll tell Mara to come find you."

He mumbled a sad 'OK' and slouched off, still nursing his sore nose. Joy shut the door and turned back to Mara.

"Why are you avoiding him?" she asked, hands on hips.

"I'm not!" she defended herself. "He's avoiding me."

Joy raised her eyebrows. "Mmhmm, then why did he just knock for you?"

"_Hello_, can we get back to the real problem now?" Amber sniffled gesturing to herself.

"Of course, err, do you want me to go and talk to Mick?" Mara asked.

"Forget talking! Let's go batter him she scoffed, already halfway out of the room. Mara and Joy ran after her not really wanting Patricia to 'batter' Mick in front of the whole house. Too late, she thought when she skidded into the room to see Patricia lunge at a very confused Mick.

"No, Patricia." she moaned as her and Joy grabbed at her arms and tried holding her back. Fabian, Alfie and Jerome were sitting at the table, watching with wide eyes.

"I bet a fiver on Patricia." he whispered to Alfie who nodded enthusiastically and fist bumped Jerome. Mara was getting tired as Patricia just got more worked up. Mick had begun to fight back but was losing shamelessly. Finally, with a team effort, Joy and Mara managed to pull Patricia fully off of the bruised boy.

"I hope you're happy." she spat. "Amber's crying because _you _dumped her. And all you can do is sit here and _eat._" Joy covered her mouth before she could say anything more, and dragged her out of the room leaving Mara standing awkwardly in the middle of the room. They were all staring at her but somehow, Jerome's stare had a physical effect on her. It was as if he were shooting lasers into her, she felt weak. She left the room slowly but ran as soon as she reached the stairs. Her loud steps heard from the living room.

**LineBreak**

Year 10 brought more exams and more exams brought stressed moody teenagers. Jerome, he wasn't stressed. Tests didn't faze him. If he failed, he failed. And if he passed, well, he'd be very surprised. He watched Mara, at the front of the classroom, taking notes , her pen moving at an aggressive pace. They hadn't talked since year nine but Jerome had become accustomed to just _observing _her. Although, he often caught Mara looking at him as well. She'd blush when he smirked at her and look down at her work again. He found it very amusing. He hated what he did but, hey, No regrets, right? That's what he kept telling himself. He also tried his absolute hardest to bury his long time crush. It wasn't easy but, for a while, it worked. He focused on his life and even tried to date other girls. Although they were always a disappointment and were dumped after two days. They were pretty and popular, but they weren't Mara. The other girls were just a distraction. Alfie was a good way to forget Mara, he thought until _he _started talking to her. Jerome wasn't worried about him stealing her, he could never have liked Mara. He was just jealous that Alfie could just go up and talk to her. Jerome couldn't.

Jerome sat in the Drama room, 'reading' a book. Everyone else was there but Jerome was alone. Fabian, Mick and Amber-they were back together- were sitting on the red seats in the middle of the room. Mick and Fabian talking animatedly about something and Amber sitting in between, flicking through a magazine. Patricia, Joy and Mara on the stage, messing around with the props. Mara was having a sword fight against her two friends. She looked beautiful when she laughed, Jerome thought. He jumped when Alfie took the book out of his hands and sat opposite him.

"Dude, why are you staring?" he asked seriously. Jerome scoffed.

"I was _not _staring!"

"You keep telling yourself that." Jerome just rolled his eyes.

"So, when are you going to tell her?" Alfie continued.

"Tell her what?"

"That you like her." he clarified.

Jerome snorted again. "I do not."

"Do too."

"Do not. I'm not starting this with you." he ended the argument before it started.

They both went back to doing whatever they were doing.

"Do too." he covered it up with a violent cough as his taller companion glared daggers at him.

**LineBreak**

Sunday. Sunday's never bought Jerome anything good. It was just one day closer to Monday and that was even worse. This Sunday in particular was depressing. First of all, he woke up at 8 o'clock and couldn't get back to sleep, then Alfie spilt orange juice all over his half done homework. Lastly, and by far the worst, Amber decides to drop the bombshell.

"Lousy boyfriend stealer." Amber stomped into the room, muttering under her breath.

Alfie was quick to sit next her. "Who's a lousy boyfriend stealer?" he asked, admiring the blonde goddess. His question was answered when Mara and Mick walked into the room, smiling and holding hands. Jerome stared shamelessly at the happy couple.

"Her." Amber said shortly and angrily. Mara's smile faltered and she rolled her eyes.

"Just ignore her, Mars. She's just bitter." Mick reassured his new girlfriend.

Mara looked to Amber pleadingly but stomped to her own seat when she didn't respond. She had swapped and sat on the other side of the table. Rather than in between Jerome and Amber, opposite Jerome. She smiled shortly at him but it vanished from her face almost instantly. Mick went to sit next to her. Jerome spaced out for a while to evaluate the whole situation. So, the girl that he had loved for ages was now dating the super-hot-athletic-football-jock. Yeah, this was not good.

**Sorry for taking so long! Hope you enjoyed this chapter and thanks for all the reviews.**

**Review ;)**


	6. Chapter 6

"See you later babe, I've got training." Mick kissed her quickly on the cheek and left. Mara waved half heartedly at her boyfriend. She didn't even know _why _she was going out with him. Her crush on him lasted for about a week. The honey moon phase, as nice as it was, didn't last very long. The spark had died down. The only reason that she was still with him was guilt. It was very selfish, in Mara's opinion, to break up with someone just because you didn't _like _them anymore. She sat at the dinner table, not eating, just sitting. She was next to Jerome (she always did) and opposite Amber. Amber had gotten over the whole Mickara situation, but still didn't speak to her as much as she used to. Amber squirmed under Mara's intense stare.

"Mara, I know I'm beautiful but there's no need to stare."

Mara shook herself out of her daydream and apologized to Amber.

"Sorry, I was thinking." she looked down at her plate of food. It hadn't been touched at all. "Thanks, Trudy but I'm not hungry. I might just go up to my room." She could feel Jerome watching her but didn't give him as much as a glance as she left the room. Once upstairs, she crawled under her covers and got out her notebook and favorite pen. Then, she vented.

_**Do you get what I mean by saying that I'm happy but not really happy at all? Mick is the sweetest boyfriend ever, but that's just it. I don't want a sweet boyfriend. I want a challenging one. One that will make me dig deeper to find out his feelings. One that doesn't say every little thing on his mind and tells it through his eyes. Being with Mick is best put as boring. Now, I know it's selfish and wrong but I can't help the way that I feel!**_

Mara was interrupted by a knock at the door. Jerome sauntered in and threw a Snickers bar at the foot of her bed.

"You need to eat." he stated. This reminded Mara very much of their first day. She was imagining little Jerome standing in front of her and smiled. Not saying anything, she took the chocolat, opened it and took one nutty bite.

"There, happy?" she said playfully, mouth half full.

"Much better!" he smiled and sat on the beanbag next to her bed. Mara got up and sat opposite him so she was level.

"Let's play a game." he suggested.

"What game?" He contemplated for a minute before getting up and leaving the room.

"Wai-what?" she asked, confused. He returned two minutes later with a bag of marshmallows.

"Chubby bunny." he said whilst sitting down again. Mara chuckled and responded,

"That is a _very _dangerous game, you know?"

"Well, I live on the edge of life. I welcome death as a friend." he said trying to sound bad boyish.

Mara laughed again. "You got that from Harry Potter." she stopped laughing and looked at him seriously. "You've read Harry Potter?"

"Oh gosh no!" he said this as if it were a sin to have read one of them. "That part was in the movie."

"Oh yeah, Deathly Hallows. The story bit."

"Mmhm, now, on with the game!" Jerome exclaimed.

"Well of course!" she said and slipped one white marshmallow into her mouth.

"Chubby bunny."

Jerome smiled and copied her actions. This carried on until Mara's mouth was crammed with white and pink. Until she absolutely couldn't take any more. She held her hands up as if to surrender and tried, to no avail, to chew and swallow. She ended up just spitting them all out while Jerome sat their, laughing at her. He had successfully shoved the marshmallows down his throat and was now eating the rest from the packet.

"Ugh, you've put me of marshmallows for life." she wiped her mouth and looked at Jerome. "Give me another." she smiled. He extended a sticky hand but immediately retracted when he felt Mara lightly brush his fingertips with her own. Both felt it. Both fell silent afterwards. The tension in the room was unbearable so Mara was glad when someone tapped the door. Her happiness soon went away when she saw that it was Mick.

"Hey ba-" he trailed off when he saw Jerome sitting with me. "Clarke, what are you doing here with my girlfriend?"

"Calm down Mick. We were just playing." Mara defended Jerome.

"Why so possessive?" he said calmly. He sounded so innocent yet so mischievous at the same time.

"I'm not possessive!"

"Do you even know what it means?" Jerome was dead-set on peeving Mick off.

"No, but I do know that she's _mine_." Mick was never the smartest but Mara found it cute. Right now though, she was annoyed.

"No she's not."

"Hello! She is in the room you know." she got up and stood in between the two boys, who were slowly getting closer and closer.

"Whatever." he glared at Mick and left the room. Mara watched him leave with sad eyes.

"Well done." she said sarcastically and angrily returned to her bed, ignoring Mick's presence.

"You should be thanking me. That guy is bad news." he scoffed, equally as angry.

"We were having a good time until you showed up. You know, Jerome's right. You are possessive. And ultimately, very jealous." She said, never meeting his eyes. So it was a shock to her when she heard Mick's heavy breathing getting considerably closer.

"Don't talk to me like that!" he hissed and took hold of her delicate wrist. Mara tried to move back but he held on even tighter.

"Mick, stop it. You're scaring me." she whimpered, her voice breaking. He let go of her hand but not for the reason Mara had hoped. His hand now free, he slapped her already red face. She gasped as tears streaked down her cheeks. He released her and left the room. Mara was frozen to the spot, watching the door that he had slammed. Only did she move when she heard Amber coming up the stairs, coming to bed. Mara lay still until she was sure that her roommate was asleep. Then, and only then, did she finally let down the barrier that was holding back her tears and cried herself to sleep.

**Sorry for the long wait. Promise to be quicker next time! There will probably only be one more chapter but I've already started typing up another JARA story so that will be up soon.**

**REVIEW!**


	7. Chapter 7

Jerome couldn't sleep. He stared up at the ceiling, bored out of his mind. Alfie's quiet snoring could be heard from the other side of the room. His arms were folded behind his head and he was listening to the slight pitter patter of the rain outside. Who did Mick think he was? Ok, he was Mara's boyfriend but Jerome loved her first. He sighed and rolled onto his side. Morning was finally coming around and he hadn't gotten a wink of sleep. Deciding to at least try to get some rest, Jerome forcefully shut his eyes and eventually drifted to sleep.

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/

"Mara. Mars, get up." The puffy eyed teen looked up at her friend and jutted out her bottom lip.

"Five more minutes." Amber pulled the covers off of her.

"No, we're already late for breakfast and if you don't hurry we'll be late for school!"

"Fine, fine! I'm up." she rolled out of bed, admitting defeat. "Why are you so eager to go to school anyway?"

"Duh, we have Mr. Winkler first period." the blonde smiled while her friend rolled her eyes. Amber stopped and looked at Mara. Her red eyes were puffy and she looked as if she hadn't gotten any sleep. "Have you... been crying?"

Mara turned away quickly, denying her accusations.

"You have, haven't you? I can tell, don't bother lying to me!" she crossed her arms. "What happened?"

"Amber, it was nothing. Seriously. I'm going to get ready now so I'll be down in a bit." Mara bit her lip, hoping that she'd believe her lie.

"Ok, if you say so. I'll just tell Trudy that you're getting dressed." She breathed a sigh of relief when Amber left. She went to look in the mirror and flinched when she saw the reddish brown bruise on her cheek. There was a small one on her arm aswell, from when Mick had grabbed at her. She was still in shock. Never had she expected anyone to act like this towards her, especially her own boyfriend! She had decided to act as if nothing had happened. After getting dressed and everything else, she put a little make up on the bruise. Nothing too much, just a little to camouflage it. Taking a deep breath, she made her way down to breakfast, where everyone would be... including Mick. Upon entering the kitchen, she noticed the absence of Amber, Patricia, Joy, Fabian and Alfie. She didn't think too much of it though, they were always one place or another these days. Another thing that she noticed was the silence in the room. After all, it was only Mick and Jerome at the table. Just as Mara went to sit down, Mick got up.

"Come on Mara, we should get going to school now." he looked directly at her with narrowed eyes. Jerome, who was in the seat next to her, protested.

"But she hasn't had her breakfast yet." Mick scowled at him.

"Well she wasn't going to eat it anyway, where you Mars?"

"No." she mumbled, getting up and looking away from any of them.

"I don't see how it's any of your business anyway, Clarke." he spat.

But Jerome didn't respond. He was too busy trying to catch Mara's eye. She was expertly avoiding making eye contact.

"Let's go then." Mick came and put his arm around her causing her to cringe slightly. Shrugging it off, she left Jerome at the table.

Once outside, Mick let his angry side show, scolding Mara for sitting next to Jerome and not him.

"You're going to stay away from him," he demanded, putting more pressure on her shoulder. Mara took a deep breath and removed his arm from around her.

Big mistake.

"You know Mick, just because you're my boyfriend, doesn't mean that you can pick my friends." she said, stopping when she was done. This enraged him even more. He stopped, moved so that he was in front of her and gave a sharp blow to ear. The force sent Mara tumbling sideways. He pulled her up harshly and they carried on walking, Mick pulling her along while she tried to nurse her bleeding ear.

"Don't argue, just listen to me. I only want what's best for you. We'll have a good relationship if you just listen." he stopped and pulled Mara in front of him. "Ok?"

She nodded slowly, not daring to look him in the eye.

"I can't hear you." he spat.

"Y-es." she mumbled but repeated the word when he shook her violently. They walked the rest of the way to school in silence, only Mara's occasional sniffles breaking it.

Surprisingly, Mara lasted up until break without breaking down in tears. As soon as the bell rang, she walked/ran to the girls toilets. Sliding down the stall door, she let the tears fall. Two lessons of restraining them was too hard. Two lessons of sitting beside Mick was too hard. Two lessons of avoiding Jerome's concerned gaze was especially hard. If she even looked at him, Mick would pinch her on the arm. Hard.

Mara didn't know why she was letting herself be treated like this. She just felt helpless. The silent tears soon became quiet whimpers that were now uncontrollable sobs. She didn't even notice when someone came into the toilets. She only stopped crying when they knocked on the white door of her stall.

"Mara? Hey, Mara let me in." The voice was soft, caring and Mara could recognize it anywhere. Slowly, she stood. Opening the door, she jumped into Jerome's arms and cried into his chest. She wept while he stroked her sleek black hair and whispered into her ear. Although he was trying to be reassuring, he had no idea what was going on. After a while, when Mara felt as if she could cry no more, she pulled away and finally looked him in the eyes.

"Are you going to tell me why you're crying." he said softly. She sighed and unwound her arms from around Jerome's torso.

"It's nothing, I'm just being silly." She wiped her tears.

"Deja vu?" he raised an eyebrow and continued when she didn't respond.

"Year eight. You were crying and when I asked, you said that you were 'just being silly'." He watched as her face became one of realization.

"How do you remember that?" she asked. She couldn't even remember and she was the one that was crying.

"We're steering off topic." he waved it off. "I refuse to believe that you were crying for nothing."

"Well, believe it." It was silent for a few moments before Mara lunged forward again. She wrapped her arms around him, inhaling his sweet scent.

"Thanks. Thanks for being there but you don't need to worry about me. Honest, it's nothing." She pulled away slightly to look up at him but kept her arms tightly around his waist. His usually icy blue eyes much softer, stared down at her. His eyes were the last thing that she remembered before the distance between them was closed and their lips connected. Every sane thought had abandoned Mara's mind as she moved her arms from his waist to his neck, his traveling down to her waist. That moment of pure bliss was broken when they both heard someone behind them.

"Eeew! Make out with you're boyfriend someplace else!" The girl said, obviously disgusted. Mara and Jerome pulled away and looked guiltily at the younger girl.

"Why are you even in here you creep. Did you not see the sign?" She scolded.

Jerome made a face at her and turned back to Mara who was frozen with shock.

"Mara?" he waved a hand in front of her glassy eyes. She finally regained consciousness and shook her head.

"No, no. He's going to kill me." she mumbled looking at the bathroom tiles before rushing out, Jerome yelling after her.

"Ahem!" the girl raised an eyebrow, gesturing to the door.

"Alright, alright! I'm going!" he snapped at the girl and followed Mara out.

**You like? Review and tell me!**

**It's going to end soon, two more chapters maximum. Tell me if it was any good, 'cause I need to know!**

**X**


	8. Chapter 8

xxellabearxx-I am sincerely sorry for making you choke :D

As fast as he could, Jerome ran in the direction that he had just seen Mara. But it seemed as if she had disappeared off of the face of the earth. He rounded the corner, still no sign of her. Sighing, he stopped and frustrated, banged his head on the nearest locker. That was not how he wanted to tell Mara his feelings for her. In a girls toilets, while she was crying and being watched by an annoying thirteen year old. To make matters worse, she had run away crying after. Not very romantic.

The bell rang just when Jerome's head was starting to hurt and when people had begun to stare. He didn't care. All he wanted was to find Mara.

Jerome was very disappointed when she didn't turn up to class after break. He stared at the door, watching students file in. Everyone except Mara. Now he had made it his personal mission to find her, even if it meant getting into trouble.

"Jerome?" Miss Valentine called after him, but it was no use. He was already headed out of the school. Maybe she was back at Anubis, he thought. Hoped.

Once outside the house, he doubled over in fake pain and entered, groaning.

"Oh sweetie, what's wrong? We've already had Mara run in crying. Maybe there's a stomach bug going round." Trudy rushed over to help him and led him to his room. "I'll go and make you some tea... or coffee. I don't suppose you youngsters drink coffee do you." She stopped to think but quickly left when Jerome interrupted with a groan.

As soon as she was gone, he peeked out of the little crack opening in his door. Seeing that it was clear, he tip-toed out and ran up the stairs. He didn't bother knocking when he reached Mara's room and barged straight in. Mara was curled up in her bed, crying silently. He walked hesitantly over to her shaking form and sat on the foot of her bed. Awkwardly, he put a hand on her shoulder.

"Was I that bad of a kisser?" He meant for it to be a joke but she still jumped and stopped her crying. She sat up and moved to the other side of her bed, as far away as she could get.

"What do you want?" she sniffed, looking anywhere but him.

"To see if you're okay. You.. you ran away crying after we.. um after."

"After we kissed." she interjected, whispering. There was a moment of silence before anyone said anything.

It was Mara.

"I'm a horrible girlfriend." It was so quiet that Jerome didn't even know if she meant for him to hear it. "This may be my first relationship but i'm pretty sure that it's not right for me to kiss you whilst i'm dating Mick."

"Come on, Mara, you're the nicest person I know. Don't beat yourself up over this."

Mara flinched at the phrase. It was strangely convenient.

Jerome noticed her discomfort and got up. He moved around the bed so that he could get closer to her. He situated himself directly in front of her.

"Mara. I may be a lot of things but I am not dumb." he said as he looked her straight in the eye. "I know something's wrong. So, why don't you tell me what it is?" He looked at her expectantly.

Mara didn't know what it was or what had possessed her to open up to him but she did. She told him everything. From the slap all the way to the constant pinches and pokes in the classroom. By the time she was finished, Jerome was visibly fuming.

"I'll kill him." he seethed. His blood was boiling, his teeth were gritted and his fists were clenched so tightly that his knuckles were turning white. How could someone be do heartless that they would do that. And Mara of all people. Jerome always knew that Mick was a brainless good-for-nothing idiot but he never knew that he could stoop this low.

Quickly, he got up and all but stomped to the door, his aim to beat Mick senseless but was stopped by Victor. He was standing at the door, a ripped book in one hand and a fountain pen in the other.

"What are you doing out of school?" he asked, looking very intimidating. However angry that Jerome was, Victor scared him no doubt.

"I uhh.. i was ju-just.. err" he stuttered. Thankfully, Trudy came up at that moment.

"Oh, these two came home sick. Oh honey, look how red your face is! Come down to your room, I've made you some tea." she ushered him out of the room. Leaving Victor standing in the doorway of a crying Mara's room. He peered in, coughed awkwardly and left.

She cried and cried for two hours straight. She cried because she was worried about Mick. She cried because she had been a bad girlfriend. But mostly, she cried because she had fallen in love. With someone who wasn't her boyfriend. The totally wrong boy.

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/

Jerome paced his room, hitting the wall every now and then. Only five more minutes until they would walk through the door and he could give Mick everything that he deserved. All this time, he had thought that the girl he loved was perfectly happy without him, she'd been totally miserable. Maybe now he would have a chance with her but he was too angry to think about any of that right now.

The front door opened and Jerome heard the voices of all of his housemates. Taking a deep breath, he left his room and stormed out to the hall way. Ignoring all of the questioning looks he was getting, he went straight for Mick and punched him. The crunch of his nose was heard and he wailed out in pain.

"What the hell!" he protested. "What was that for?" This earned him another jab, this time, the affected area was his stomach.

"For hurting Mara." Everyone else was confused.

"Jerome! What the hell is going on?" Amber exclaimed. He turned away from the injured boy to explain.

"He has been hurting Mara. I think that hitting your girlfriend is going to earn you a punch." He said, panting. Patricia was now just as angry as he was. She stormed over to where Mick was kneeling and kicked his head so that he was flat on his back.

"Prick." Jerome resumed hitting every part of the body he could while the girls all ran upstairs to see Mara. That just left Fabian, who was trying to pry him off of Mick and Alfie, who was cheering him on.

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/

"What's going on?" Mara hiccupped when she heard Patricia, Amber and Joy come into the room. They didn't answer her though. They all ran over to her bed and enveloped her in a massive hug. Sighing, she hugged back. Once they pulled away, they all started talking at the same time.

"Oh Mara, the pain you must've gone through! We could've helped if you had just told us." Amber cooed.

"I feel so bad! Why didn't we notice that something was wrong. I'm such a horrible friend." Joy said, guilt ridden.

"Idiot." Patricia smacked her up-side the head.

"Ow! What?" Mara yelled, holding her head.

"Why didn't you tell us? I thought you were smarter than that." She glared at Mara for a little while before hugging her again.

"Jerome is giving Mick his 'just desserts'." Joy informed her. Mara frowned. She didn't want Jerome to get in trouble for this.

"I helped!" Patricia raised her hand. Despite her current situation, she laughed at her friend and got up to hug them one last time before leading them all out of the door. The smile was wiped off of her face however, when she saw the scene downstairs.

Blood was splattered on the brown tiles and a half unconscious Mick was being led out of the house by Victor. Trudy was scolding and helping Jerome at the same time, looking at the cuts on his face and hands. Alfie and Fabian were hiding behind the suit of amour, probably not wanting to get in trouble, what with the joint enterprise and all.

"Look at what I caused." She whispered to no one in particular.

"No way is this your fault, Mars. It was all Mick." Amber said in a hushed tone, not wanting to be noticed. The four girls were hiding by the banister, crouching down. They waited until, Trudy was finished with Jerome and went to find Victor and Mick to go down.

Taking the stairs in twos, Mara ran down to Jerome. She thought of tackling him in a hug but thought better of it considering he had just been in a fight.

She reached up to touch the bleeding cut. "I'm so sorry." She whispered. "You shouldn't have done that for me." Jerome took hold of her raised hand gently and looked her in the eye.

"Why not, I love you." He said, simply. Whatever Mara was about to say got caught in her throat. He loved her.

She had no time to think about it because just as soon as he said it, he leaned down and put his lips against hers.

"I love you too." She smiled once he pulled away.

Jerome opened his mouth to say something but was stopped when a loud chorus of 'awws' were heard behind the. The girls had come down to the bottom of the stairs and Alfie and Fabian had come out of hiding.

Both Mara and Jerome turned and laughed at their friends.

"Ooh!" Amber squealed. "I need to make Jara scrapbook now!" She ran upstairs, already mentally picking out pictures. Everyone laughed at that and came to give each Mara and Jerome a hug.

For the first time in a long time, Mara was actually and truthfully happy.

**Urghh, sorry for the sappiness. (Is that a word?) Anyway, it's finished so thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorited and alerted this story. **

**Didn't put Nina in that story because I don't like her and it's my story so mehh. Sorry for not putting Eddie in it but I didn't know how to.**

**I have another Jara story currently in the making so be expecting that.**

**X**


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